A week passed after the dungeon incident.
For once, nothing exploded.
That alone made the week suspicious.
After everything that had happened recently, a normal week felt less like peace and more like the universe gathering strength. No sudden gate near the school. No special variant boss that had no business existing inside a B-rank dungeon. No mountain exploding in my face. No authorities banging on my door. No Aaron appearing with paperwork thick enough to flatten my soul.
Just mornings.
School.
Groceries.
Cleaning.
Homework.
Anime.
Snack time.
Normal things.
Terrifyingly normal things.
The only unusual event during that week was Ruruka visiting the condominium after hearing that Astrea had ten percent of her powers back.
That sounded dramatic, because it was.
Apparently, Aaron had updated her.
Or she had threatened Aaron until he updated her.
Both were possible.
My little sister arrived that afternoon with her sword at her waist and the expression of a woman fully prepared to cut through a wall if necessary. She entered the house with the kind of calm that usually meant violence was waiting politely behind her eyes.
"Nii-sama," she said.
"Yo."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Where is she?"
"In the living room."
"Is everyone safe?"
"So far."
"That is not reassuring."
"It's accurate."
She walked past me without removing her shoes until Ruri quietly looked at them.
Ruruka froze.
Then slowly stepped back, removed her shoes properly, placed them on the rack, and bowed her head slightly.
"…Sorry, Ruri."
Ruri smiled. "It's okay, Auntie."
Only Ruri could stop armed inspection with shoe etiquette.
Ruruka then entered the living room and saw the terrifying scene.
Astrea, formerly the Demon Queen, current sealed headache, was sitting on the carpet with Hikari and Karin in front of her. Ruri sat nearby with a book open on her lap, pretending to read while clearly watching. Astrea had one hand raised, dark red mana flickering between her fingers in harmless sparks.
Hikari stared with wide eyes.
Karin leaned forward like she was watching the birth of a forbidden technique.
Astrea twitched her fingers, and the sparks formed a tiny dragon made of light. It flapped its wings above her palm, spun once, then burst into smaller glittering stars that drifted down harmlessly.
Hikari gasped.
"Kira-kira dragon!"
Karin stood. "Again! Make it breathe fire!"
"No fire indoors," Ruri said immediately.
Astrea gave Karin a grave nod. "The quiet one is correct. Indoor fire is prohibited unless one has proper ventilation, a battlefield permit, and a household willing to replace curtains."
"You burned curtains before?" Karin asked.
"No," Astrea said.
I looked at her.
She ignored me.
Karin turned to me. "Papa?"
"No comment."
Ruruka stood in the doorway, completely still.
Her hand was on her sword.
Her face said her brain had prepared for murder and encountered a magic show instead.
Astrea noticed her after a moment.
Then she smiled.
Not kindly.
Smugly.
It was a small smile, elegant and sharp, the kind of expression royalty used when winning a war without moving from a chair. She looked at Ruruka as if to say, They are closer to me now than you expected, little swordswoman.
Ruruka deadpanned.
"Nii-sama."
"Yeah?"
"What am I looking at?"
"Magic tricks."
"I can see that."
"Then why ask?"
"Because my brain refuses to accept it."
Astrea lifted her chin. "Your brain has limitations, swordswoman."
Ruruka slowly looked at me.
"She has ten percent back?"
"Yes."
"And this is what she uses it for?"
"Apparently."
Hikari raised both hands. "Ria can make sparkle dragon."
Karin nodded seriously. "And shadow blades, but Papa said not inside."
Ruruka stared at me harder.
I looked away.
"Context matters."
Ruruka inhaled slowly through her nose.
Then she exhaled like someone reminding herself that the children were present and murder had to wait.
Astrea made the tiny dragon again.
Hikari clapped.
Karin shouted, "Fire version later!"
Ruri smiled quietly.
Ruruka's expression became more complicated.
Worry was still there. Suspicion too. But beneath both of those, I saw confusion.
And maybe a little relief.
She stayed for tea after that, though she sat across from Astrea like they were negotiating a ceasefire. Astrea spent most of the time acting smug, Ruruka spent most of the time watching for danger, and the girls spent most of the time asking Ruruka to admit the sparkle dragon was cute.
Ruruka did not admit it.
But she did say, "It was well controlled."
For Ruruka, that was basically applause.
After she left, I thought that would be the strangest part of the week.
I was wrong.
Because on Thursday morning, Aaron called.
The girls were still finishing breakfast. Ruri was checking their school bags. Karin was arguing that school activity days should allow extra snacks. Hikari was holding a spoon and asking whether family trees needed watering.
Astrea was in the kitchen packing lunches like a general preparing supplies for campaign.
I answered the phone near the window.
"Aaron."
"Master," Aaron said, voice already tired. "Do you have a moment?"
"That depends. Is it paperwork?"
"Partly."
"I'm busy."
"Master."
"I'm always busy when paperwork exists."
"It is about the unusual dungeon activity in Chiba."
That pulled my attention immediately.
I glanced toward the girls.
They were talking among themselves now, Hikari proudly explaining that trees had families too because branches were like siblings. Karin was telling her that if a tree had siblings, the strongest branch should lead. Ruri looked like she had accepted that breakfast conversations were beyond saving.
I lowered my voice.
"Go on."
Aaron sighed. "Similar incidents occurred in Saitama and Tokyo."
My grip tightened around the phone.
"How similar?"
"In Saitama, a D-rank dungeon commonly used as a farming site suddenly evolved into a B-rank dungeon. It jumped two ranks within minutes. The guild team inside was not prepared. I had to interfere personally."
"Casual."
"It was not casual, Master."
"Any casualties?"
"No deaths. Injuries, but stable."
"Good."
"The boss was the issue. The original boss classification for that dungeon should have been a D-rank Orc Berserker. Instead, the final chamber produced an A-rank Demon Knight."
I stared at the city outside the window.
A D-rank farming dungeon producing an A-rank boss.
That was not similar.
That was the same kind of wrong wearing different clothes.
"What about Tokyo?"
"An E-rank dungeon shifted into C-rank. Lower danger than the Saitama case, but same pattern. Rapid elevation, terrain distortion, and boss mismatch."
"Boss?"
"Reports indicate a mid-C-rank Spectral Wolf. The dungeon should have contained only low-tier goblins and insect variants."
I rubbed my forehead.
Great.
Wonderful.
The universe was definitely gathering strength.
"Any core abnormalities?"
"Tokyo officials are still examining theirs. Saitama's core fractured before full recovery. I preserved fragments, but the mana signature is unstable. It resembles forced strengthening rather than natural evolution."
"That matches what I saw."
"I thought it might."
I looked toward Astrea. She was scolding Karin for trying to slip a small snack pack beneath her lunch cloth.
Karin looked betrayed.
Astrea looked victorious.
I sighed.
"I'll look into it when I have time."
Aaron paused.
"When you have time?"
"Today is Thursday. The kids have a school activity."
Another pause.
Then Aaron sighed, longer this time.
"Right. Right. You're a father. I keep forgetting that."
"You shouldn't. It's basically my full-time job now."
"You are also one of the few people capable of understanding these anomalies."
"And yet family tree activity waits for no man."
"…Family tree activity?"
"Hikari asked if family trees need watering."
"Of course she did."
I glanced toward Hikari, who was now showing Astrea her spoon as if requesting an official inspection.
Aaron continued. "I will update you if anything else happens. If this pattern spreads, I may need your cooperation sooner rather than later."
"Understood."
"And Master?"
"Yeah?"
"Please avoid entering unstable gates without proper notice next time."
"I gave notice."
"You threw a recording crystal at a guild official and left."
"That was after."
"That does not count."
"It counted enough."
"Master."
"I had to drop off my daughters."
The line went quiet for a second.
Then Aaron said, softer, "Yes. I know."
I let that sit.
"Send me the reports when you can."
"I will."
The call ended.
I slipped the phone into my pocket just as Ruruka entered the kitchen from the hallway, finishing the last of her tea. She had stayed longer than expected, mostly because Hikari asked her to watch one more sparkle dragon, then Karin asked her about sword stances, then Ruri offered refilled tea. My little sister had been defeated by hospitality.
"Aaron?" she asked.
"Yeah."
Her expression sharpened. "Dungeon matter?"
"Saitama and Tokyo had similar events."
Ruruka frowned. "So it wasn't isolated."
"No."
"Do you need me to stay?"
"You have guild work?"
She looked away.
"Aaron asked for my help."
"Then go."
"Nii-sama."
"I'll handle things here."
Her gaze shifted toward Astrea.
Astrea noticed.
"What, swordswoman?"
"If anything happens to my nieces—"
Astrea's eyes narrowed. "I am aware of what happens to those who threaten children."
Ruruka paused.
That was not the answer she expected.
Neither was the tone.
No sarcasm.
No smugness.
Just cold fact.
Ruruka looked at her for a long moment, then nodded.
"Good."
Astrea lifted her chin like she had accepted tribute.
Ruruka came over and crouched in front of the girls.
"Be good today."
Ruri nodded. "We will."
"Hikari will try."
Karin grinned. "I'll be extra good."
"That means normal good," I said.
Karin frowned. "Papa."
Ruruka smiled faintly and patted all three of their heads. Then she stood, gave me one last look, and left for guild work.
That returned the house to its usual lineup.
Me.
Astrea.
Three small daughters.
One school morning.
A dangerously normal life.
We finished preparing and drove to school without incident. The family tree activity had the girls unusually excited at first. Ruri carried her materials carefully. Hikari held her drawing folder against her chest. Karin said her family tree should have battle branches.
I did not ask what battle branches were.
Some knowledge lowered life expectancy.
At the school gate, the girls said goodbye like usual.
"Bye, Papa," Ruri said.
"Bye, Papa!" Hikari waved.
"Papa, can a family tree have weapons?" Karin asked.
"No."
"What about defensive roots?"
"Ask your teacher."
Astrea stepped beside me and looked down at Karin. "Do not overcomplicate the assignment. A strong tree does not reveal all its weapons."
I stared at her.
"Ria."
"What? I am encouraging restraint."
"You are encouraging classified tree weapons."
"Only implicitly."
Karin looked inspired.
Ruri gently pulled her toward the gate before the damage got worse.
Hikari turned back and waved again.
"Bye, Ria!"
Astrea folded her arms.
"Hm. Attend properly."
That meant goodbye.
The girls disappeared into school.
I watched until they were gone.
Astrea watched too.
After a moment, she said, "We need groceries."
I looked at her.
"We went two days ago."
"We ran out of fabric conditioner and detergent."
"That is not groceries. That is household supplies."
"It is purchased at the grocery."
"Technicality."
"Correct."
I sighed.
"Fine."
"We also need ingredients for lunch."
"We have ingredients."
"We have insufficient good ingredients."
"There it is."
She started walking toward Fluffy.
I followed because apparently my life had become being judged by a Demon Queen's grocery standards.
We bought detergent, fabric conditioner, vegetables, meat, fruit, Hikari's favorite small jelly cups, Karin's preferred crunchy snacks, and the simple crackers Ruri liked but never asked for unless I offered. Astrea noticed me placing those in the basket.
"For Ruri?"
"Yeah."
"She will say she does not need them."
"Yeah."
"Buy two."
I looked at her.
Astrea inspected a nearby shelf with great interest.
"For efficiency," she said.
"Sure."
"Mage."
"Didn't say anything."
"You said sure."
"That's barely anything."
"It is your most irritating word."
"I have many."
"That is worse."
After shopping, we made a detour to the Chiba guild branch.
Not because I wanted to.
Because they had my recording crystal.
The same recording crystal I had thrown at the official after the gate incident. It was expensive, high-capacity, self-encrypted, mana-stable, and absolutely not something I was donating to the guild for free.
The reception staff looked nervous when I arrived.
Maybe because of the gate incident.
Maybe because Astrea walked beside me like she was inspecting their building's moral worth.
Probably both.
"I'm here to retrieve my recording crystal," I said.
The receptionist checked the system.
"Mr. Arclight, the analysis division is still reviewing—"
"They can copy the data."
"They requested extended access."
"They can request extended access to a copy."
"They said the crystal integrity is important for evidence—"
"I paid for that crystal."
The receptionist hesitated.
Astrea leaned slightly forward.
"Return the mage's property."
The receptionist went pale.
I placed a hand lightly in front of Astrea before she accidentally turned property retrieval into a royal decree.
"What my companion means is, I'm happy to cooperate with the investigation, but the item belongs to me. If the guild wants to keep it, they can pay market value."
"How much is market value?"
I named the number.
The receptionist froze.
A nearby staff member coughed.
Astrea looked pleased.
"Extortionate," she said.
"It's accurate."
"Good."
Twenty minutes of paperwork later, I got the crystal back after they copied the data. I also signed three forms, refused two requests for formal interviews, accepted one request to submit a written report by the end of the week, and silently regretted every life choice that led me into administrative rooms.
By the time we reached home, it was already noon.
The morning had vanished.
Because of course it had.
I set the grocery bags on the counter and checked the clock.
"School activity should be ending soon."
Astrea removed the detergent from the bag and placed it in the laundry area like it was a conquered artifact.
"Go retrieve them."
"You can handle lunch?"
She looked at me over her shoulder.
"Who do you think I am?"
"Someone who once tried to kill me and now argues over fabric conditioner."
Her eyes narrowed.
"I can handle lunch."
"Good."
"Go before they grow bored and decide to explore places they should not explore."
"That sounds like Karin."
"And Hikari."
"…And Hikari."
"Ruri would attempt to stop them and be dragged along by responsibility."
I paused.
That was accurate.
Too accurate.
"You know them too well."
Astrea turned away.
"I know household patterns."
"Sure."
"Mage."
"I'm leaving."
I drove to school alone.
The pickup area was quieter than usual. The activity had ended earlier than a normal school day, so parents stood around in clusters, children holding folders, drawings, and small craft papers. I spotted the girls near their teacher.
Immediately, something felt wrong.
Usually, Hikari saw me first.
She would wave.
Karin would run.
Ruri would smile.
Today, all three stood still.
Ruri held her folder close to her chest. Karin's fists were clenched around the straps of her bag. Hikari's head was lowered, her ribbon slightly crooked, both hands gripping the edge of her drawing paper.
No wave.
No smile.
No running.
My chest tightened.
I walked over.
"Girls."
Hikari looked up first.
Her eyes were red.
Karin looked away quickly.
Ruri bowed her head.
The teacher gave me a tired smile, but something about it was careful.
"Mr. Arclight. The girls are ready."
"Thank you."
I did not ask there.
Not in front of everyone.
I placed a hand on Ruri's head first, then Karin's, then Hikari's.
"Let's go home."
None of them argued.
That was worse.
The car ride was quiet.
Too quiet.
Hikari did not ask questions.
Karin did not complain.
Ruri did not explain.
I drove with both hands on the wheel, eyes forward, pretending not to watch them through the rearview mirror every few seconds. Hikari stared down at her lap. Karin's jaw was tight. Ruri held Hikari's hand between them.
Something had happened.
I wanted to ask immediately.
I did not.
Children sometimes needed a safe place before they could speak. The car was safe, but it was also moving, enclosed, and too easy for emotions to spill without anywhere to settle.
Home first.
Then talk.
So I stayed quiet.
No jokes.
No lazy comments.
No forced comfort.
Just driving.
When we reached the condo parking area, Karin got out slowly. Hikari held her folder against her chest. Ruri walked beside them, her expression careful in a way I hated. I led them upstairs, and the entire hallway felt too long.
The smart lock opened.
The door clicked.
Home.
Astrea's POV
The house was ready.
Naturally.
The mage had left to retrieve the children, and I had done what needed to be done because this household had a strange habit of falling into disorder the moment no one supervised it.
Lunch was prepared.
The table was set.
The counters were clean.
The laundry detergent and fabric conditioner had been stored properly because the mage would have left them somewhere foolish if unsupervised.
I had also made each child's preferred dish.
Not because I cared.
Obviously.
It was simply efficient.
Ruri ate better when the meal was neat and mild. Karin ate better when there was something with stronger flavor. Hikari ate better when at least one item looked cute enough to hold her attention for more than three seconds.
Simple logistical knowledge.
Nothing more.
I stood in the kitchen, inspected the table once, and nodded.
Acceptable.
Then I moved to the couch and sat down.
The pirate illusion was paused on the screen, but I did not resume it. The children enjoyed watching with me after lunch. The sharp-eyed child, Karin, made strange tactical comments. Hikari asked whether pirates brushed their teeth. Ruri sometimes corrected their pronunciation from the subtitles.
It had become…
Routine.
Not pleasant.
Routine.
There was a difference.
I leaned back against the couch and crossed one leg over the other.
The silence of the house pressed around me.
Strange.
When the children were gone, the home felt too large. The mage occupied space lazily, like a tired cat pretending to be human, but the children filled the air. Without them, even the sunlight looked idle.
I disliked idle things.
Then the smart lock clicked.
I stood.
"They are back."
I moved toward the entrance, already prepared to tell Hikari that her favorite lunch was ready before she began asking whether spoons could smell food from far away.
The door opened.
The mage entered first.
Then the children.
The words died before reaching my mouth.
Something was wrong.
Hikari was looking down, clutching her paper against her chest. Karin's face was twisted in a way that looked painfully close to tears, but she was holding them back through sheer stubbornness. Ruri's eyes were wet, her mouth pressed into a small line as if she were trying to carry sadness neatly because that was what she always did.
No.
I did not like that.
Not at all.
The girls removed their shoes slowly.
Too slowly.
Karin did not run to the dining table. Hikari did not ask a question. Ruri did not remind anyone where to place their bags.
They placed their school bags on the couch and sat together.
Small.
Quiet.
Wrong.
I looked at the mage.
"Mage. What happened to the children?"
His expression was carefully calm.
Too calm.
"I don't know yet."
"You brought them home without asking?"
"I wanted them somewhere safe first."
That answer stopped the first sharp thing I wanted to say.
It was… correct.
Annoyingly correct.
The mage walked to the girls and crouched in front of them. I remained standing, arms folded, though my fingers pressed against my sleeves.
He spoke gently.
"Ruri. Karin. Hikari. Did something happen at school?"
Ruri's face crumpled slightly.
Karin looked down harder, jaw shaking.
Hikari's paper slipped from her hands.
Then she cried.
Not loudly at first. Just a broken little sound that made something inside my chest turn cold.
"Papa…"
The mage's face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
"What happened?"
Hikari rubbed her eyes with both hands, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Why does Hikari not have a Mama?"
Silence struck the room.
The mage froze.
I froze.
Karin made a small sound and turned away, but tears were already slipping down her face too. Ruri tried to hold herself together for another second, then failed quietly, her lower lip trembling as tears gathered in her eyes.
Hikari continued, voice shaking.
"Is Hikari not loved? Did Mama leave because Hikari is bad?"
The room tilted.
Not physically.
But something shifted.
Something inside me cracked.
I looked at the mage.
He looked like he had been stabbed.
Slowly.
With care.
The kind of wound that did not bleed but ruined something deeper.
"What happened?" I asked.
My voice came out colder than I intended.
Or perhaps exactly as cold as needed.
Ruri wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"We had a family tree activity," she said, voice small. "We drew ourselves, and Papa, and each other. But…"
She looked down at the paper Hikari dropped.
I saw the drawing.
Three small girls.
The mage.
A tree with branches.
A blank space where another parent should have been.
Karin clenched her fists.
"Some kid asked how we were born if we don't have a mama."
Hikari cried harder.
"They said maybe Mama left because Hikari and sisters were not loved."
Ruri's tears finally fell.
"The teacher told them to be quiet, but… everyone looked."
Karin wiped her face angrily.
"I didn't cry there."
Her voice broke.
"I didn't."
The mage reached out and pulled Hikari into his arms first. She clung to him immediately. Karin leaned against his side, trembling with the effort of not sobbing. Ruri sat close, hands folded too tightly in her lap.
"You are loved," the mage said.
His voice was low.
Rough.
"You hear me? All three of you are loved. So much that it's stupid. So much I don't even know what to do with it sometimes."
Hikari sobbed into his shirt.
"But Hikari has no Mama."
The mage closed his eyes.
For the first time since I had known him, the lazy mask failed completely.
He looked helpless.
And I hated it.
Not because of him.
Because the children were hurting.
Because some careless little fool had placed a wound inside their hearts using words they did not understand.
Because no teacher had stopped it fast enough.
Because the world had looked at their blank space and made them feel abandoned.
My hands curled.
The air in the room darkened slightly.
The mage looked up.
"Ria."
I was already moving.
"Mage."
He stood slowly, Hikari still in his arms.
"What?"
"Dress up."
His eyes widened.
"Ria—"
"We are going back to that damn school."
His mouth opened.
Then he saw my face.
Good.
He closed it.
Smart mage.
Karin looked up, tears still on her cheeks.
"Ria?"
I stepped toward her and held out my hand.
She took it immediately.
That made the crack inside me widen.
Hikari looked at me from the mage's arms, eyes wet.
I reached for her.
The mage hesitated for half a second, then passed her to me.
Hikari wrapped her arms around my neck.
Small.
Warm.
Shaking.
No.
Absolutely not.
No one made this child wonder whether she was unloved.
No one.
I held Hikari against me with one arm and Karin's hand with the other.
The mage lifted Ruri carefully. Ruri did not protest. She only pressed her face against his shoulder.
I turned toward the door.
"We are leaving."
The mage grabbed his keys.
For once, he did not complain.
Ren's POV
The aura inside Fluffy was terrifying.
And that was coming from me.
I had fought monsters that ate mana, demons that wore human faces, and dungeons that behaved like they were designed by a drunk god with a grudge. None of those prepared me for sitting in the driver's seat while Astrea held Hikari on her lap, one arm wrapped protectively around her, Karin clinging to her side, and enough fury radiating from her to make the car's air conditioning feel nervous.
Ruri sat beside me in the front passenger seat because she was still in my arms when we left, and I did not want to make her let go too quickly. She had buckled herself properly, because even emotionally wounded, Ruri remembered safety rules.
My daughter was too good for this world.
I drove.
No one spoke.
Hikari had stopped crying loudly, but her small sniffles filled the car like tiny knives.
Karin's hand gripped Astrea's sleeve.
Astrea stared forward.
The look on her face could have made a dragon apologize.
I almost pitied the school.
Almost.
The guard at the school gate noticed us immediately.
He stepped forward, probably to ask why we were back.
Astrea stepped out of Fluffy carrying Hikari.
The guard stopped.
Good instincts.
"Where is the principal's office?" Astrea asked.
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
The guard pointed.
His hand shook slightly.
"That building, second floor, end of the hall."
"Good."
She walked past him.
I followed with Ruri in my arms and Karin holding onto Astrea's sleeve.
The guard did not stop us.
Very wise.
The school hallway was quiet enough that our footsteps sounded too loud. A few teachers saw us and looked confused. Then they saw Astrea's face and made the excellent decision to become silent.
At the principal's office, Astrea stopped.
I shifted Ruri in my arms.
"Ria, maybe we should knock."
Astrea handed Hikari to me.
Then she gently guided Karin toward my side.
"Hold them."
"Ria."
"Hold. Them."
I held them.
Astrea turned back to the door.
Then kicked it.
The door flew inward.
Not opened.
Flew.
The entire panel ripped off its hinges and slammed against the inside wall with a crash that made every person inside the office jump.
A secretary screamed.
A teacher dropped a stack of papers.
The principal, a middle-aged man with glasses and the posture of someone who had never expected war to arrive wearing a cardigan, shot up from his chair.
I stared at the broken doorway.
Then at Astrea.
Then at the broken doorway again.
Another problem had occurred.
Astrea walked inside.
Not rushed.
Walked.
That made it worse.
She moved like judgment had chosen legs and poor school administration was about to meet them.
The principal swallowed.
"W-Who are you? How can I help you?"
Astrea placed both hands on his desk and leaned forward.
The desk creaked.
"My daughters are being bullied inside this school."
The word hit me harder than the kicked door.
My daughters.
The teachers froze.
The principal blinked.
"Your… daughters?"
Astrea's eyes narrowed.
"Was the statement complicated?"
"No, ma'am, but—"
"But what?"
He flinched.
Astrea's voice sharpened, elegant and furious.
"I returned from overseas to learn that my girls were made to cry during a school activity about family. A child asked whether they were unloved because they did not draw a mother. Another implied they had been abandoned. And your staff allowed this wound to happen under your supervision."
A teacher near the wall raised a hand slightly.
"We did tell the students to stop—"
Astrea turned her head.
The teacher lowered the hand immediately.
"You told them to stop after the damage was done."
The room became very quiet.
Astrea straightened and swept her gaze across the office.
"What exactly do you teach in this institution? Letters? Numbers? Or the art of wounding children with careless ignorance? What values do you claim to nurture here? Compassion? Respect? Awareness? Because if so, your methods appear decorative at best."
The principal's face paled.
I stood near the broken door with three children clinging to me, watching the former Demon Queen conduct a school complaint with more destructive force than most dungeon raids.
I should stop her.
Probably.
At some point.
Not yet.
The principal tried again.
"Ma'am, I deeply apologize if the children were hurt. We were not aware—"
"That is the problem."
Astrea slammed one hand onto the desk.
The wood cracked.
Everyone jumped.
Hikari stopped crying.
Karin stared.
Ruri lifted her head from my shoulder.
Astrea continued, voice cold enough to freeze the volcanic dungeon from last week.
"You were not aware. You did not see. You did not notice. You did not prevent. You did not comfort them properly afterward. You allowed three little girls to leave this school believing that the absence of a mother meant the absence of love."
She leaned closer.
"I will say this once, and I expect even this poorly defended institution to understand it. A family is not measured by the symmetry of a drawing. A child is not less loved because their tree has a missing branch. And any student under your care who suggests otherwise should be corrected before their ignorance becomes cruelty."
The principal nodded quickly.
"Yes. Yes, of course. You are absolutely right."
Astrea was not finished.
Of course she was not finished.
"I have been away for three years."
Well.
Technically true.
A seal was a kind of overseas if the overseas was a magical prison dimension.
"When I returned, I found these children fed, cared for, protected, and loved by their father. I also found them attending this school under the assumption that its adults understood how to protect children from more than falling on stairs."
A teacher whispered, "Three years…?"
I looked away.
Do not ask.
Please do not ask.
Astrea's eyes cut toward the whisper.
The teacher stopped existing socially.
"Do you know what Hikari asked?" Astrea said.
Her voice changed.
Still angry.
But lower.
More dangerous because of the restraint.
"She asked if she was not loved because she had no mother."
Hikari's arms tightened around my neck.
Astrea's expression flickered.
Then hardened again.
"Karin tried not to cry because she thought strength meant swallowing pain. Ruri tried to explain it politely while her heart was breaking because she always tries to make other people comfortable before herself."
I looked at Ruri.
Her eyes were wide.
Karin's grip on my sleeve loosened.
Astrea inhaled once.
"Tell me, educators. Which part of this outcome reflects competence?"
No one answered.
Smart.
The principal bowed.
"I apologize. Truly. I will speak with the teachers involved, identify the students who made those comments, and contact their parents. We will arrange an apology and address this with the class."
Astrea's eyes narrowed further.
"An apology is a beginning. Not a solution."
"Yes, ma'am."
"You will also review how these family activities are presented. Not all families are shaped the same. Some children have one parent. Some have guardians. Some have relatives. Some have complicated circumstances. If your lesson cannot survive reality, then your lesson is defective."
The principal nodded so fast I worried about his neck.
"Understood."
Karin whispered, barely audible, "Ria is so cool."
Hikari shifted in my arms.
Then she wriggled.
I looked down.
"Hikari?"
"Hikari wants down."
I set her down gently.
She stepped forward, small shoes tapping against the office floor.
Astrea noticed and immediately turned, fury softening.
"Hikari?"
Hikari walked to her and hugged her leg.
Then she looked up.
"Mama…"
The world stopped.
Astrea froze.
Completely.
I froze too.
Ruri's eyes widened.
Karin's mouth opened slightly.
The principal looked like he had lost track of the family tree.
Hikari rubbed her eyes with one hand and clung to Astrea's leg with the other.
"Mama protected Hikari."
Astrea's face changed.
Not all at once.
Slowly.
The fury remained, but something underneath it cracked open. Her eyes softened in a way I had never seen before. Her hand lifted, hovered awkwardly over Hikari's head, then gently rested there.
"Hikari…"
Her voice was quieter now.
Almost uncertain.
Which was terrifying in a different way.
The Demon Queen could face a Soul Reaper without flinching, but one crying child calling her Mama nearly ended her.
Karin ran over next and hugged Astrea's side.
"Yeah. Mama is awesome."
Ruri, still in my arms, whispered, "Papa…"
I looked at her.
She looked at Astrea.
Her tears had not fully dried, but there was something warm in her expression now.
I lowered her carefully.
Ruri walked over and bowed her head.
"…Thank you, Mama."
Critical hit.
Fatal.
Astrea's cheeks turned faintly red.
She looked away immediately, but there was nowhere to run because three children were attached to her.
"I…" She cleared her throat. "Naturally. Children under my protection will not be insulted by undisciplined mouths."
Hikari sniffled.
"Mama is pretty."
Astrea's face turned redder.
Karin nodded. "And scary."
"Also brave," Ruri added softly.
Astrea closed her eyes for a second.
I could almost hear her pride trying to reorganize itself after taking emotional damage from three directions.
Then she looked back at the principal.
The softness vanished just enough.
"My daughters will be treated properly."
"Yes, ma'am," the principal said immediately.
"If another child wounds them this way because your staff failed to teach basic decency, I will return."
The principal swallowed.
"I understand."
Astrea gently lifted Hikari into her arms.
"Good."
She turned toward me.
"Mage."
"Yeah?"
"We will wait in the car. Deal with these idiots."
"Right."
She walked past me with Hikari in her arms, Karin attached to her sleeve, and Ruri following close enough to hold the edge of her cardigan.
The teachers parted like the Red Sea.
I watched them leave.
Then I looked at the destroyed door.
Then at the cracked desk.
Then at the terrified principal.
I sighed.
Another problem had occurred.
I stepped into the office and bowed my head slightly.
"I apologize for the door."
The principal blinked at me.
"I… appreciate that, Mr. Arclight."
"I'll pay for repairs."
"That would be appreciated."
"And the desk."
He looked down at the cracked surface.
"Yes. The desk as well."
"Right."
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"About what happened with my daughters…"
The principal's expression sobered.
"Yes. I am deeply sorry. We should have handled it better. The family tree activity was meant to be harmless, but clearly we did not consider how it might affect children from different family circumstances."
I nodded.
"My girls are loved. Whatever their paperwork looks like, whatever their family tree looks like, they are loved. I don't want them leaving school thinking anything else."
"Of course."
"I'm not asking you to punish children harshly for being ignorant. Kids say things. But the adults need to guide them before ignorance becomes cruelty."
The principal nodded more steadily this time.
"You're right. I will contact the parents of the students involved and arrange a proper apology. I will also speak with the class about different family structures. We will review the activity."
"Good."
A teacher near the wall bowed.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Arclight. Hikari was crying after the activity, and Ruri tried to explain, but I thought giving them space would help. I should have stepped in more directly."
I looked at her.
She seemed genuinely regretful.
That helped.
A little.
"Please watch them more carefully for a while."
"We will."
The principal glanced toward the hallway, where Astrea had disappeared.
"May I ask… Mrs. Arclight is…?"
I froze.
Ah.
There it was.
The paperwork demon.
I closed my eyes for half a second.
"She is family."
The principal nodded quickly.
"Of course."
Good.
Vague enough.
Dangerous enough.
We finished the conversation, exchanged contact information for repair payment and follow-up, and I left before anyone could ask more questions about the woman who had introduced herself through property damage and parental fury.
When I reached the car, the situation inside Fluffy had changed.
Dramatically.
Hikari was sitting on Astrea's lap in the back seat, completely happy now, her earlier tears replaced by the kind of bright relief only children could switch into after being reassured properly.
Karin was clinging to Astrea's side like a motivated koala.
Ruri sat much closer to Astrea than usual, one hand lightly holding the edge of her sleeve as if confirming she was still there.
Astrea sat in the middle of all three of them, back straight, expression strained, trying to maintain dignity while being emotionally captured.
"Hikari has Mama now," Hikari announced the moment I opened the driver's door.
I looked at Astrea through the rearview mirror.
She glared at me immediately.
Not one word, the glare said.
I got in.
"Hikari has a very pretty Mama," Hikari added.
Astrea's ears turned red.
Karin nodded fiercely.
"And strong."
Ruri smiled.
"And brave."
Astrea inhaled slowly.
"Right. Right. You have a Mama."
Her voice was stiff at first.
Then softer.
"Mama is sorry for letting you get bullied."
Ruri shook her head immediately.
"No. Mama is very brave for protecting us. Thank you, Mama."
Boom.
Critical hit.
I watched Astrea's face through the mirror.
Her entire expression short-circuited.
The proud Demon Queen, terror of kingdoms and breaker of principal office doors, blushed.
Actually blushed.
Hikari hugged her.
Karin grinned like she had witnessed a legendary skill activation.
Ruri smiled with quiet satisfaction.
I looked forward quickly.
Too late.
Astrea caught me through the mirror.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Do not say a single thing, Mage."
"I didn't."
"You were about to."
"I was breathing."
"You were breathing with mockery."
"That's a new accusation."
"I will make it valid."
"Right, right. Geez. No need to be too hostile."
"I am being merciful."
"After kicking a door off its hinges?"
"That door lacked discipline."
Karin nodded. "It really did."
"Karin, do not support door violence."
"But Mama was cool."
Astrea's mouth twitched.
Oh, she liked that.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Hikari leaned against Astrea's chest.
"Mama cooked Hikari's favorite?"
Astrea looked down at her.
The last bits of fury faded from her expression.
"Yes. Mama cooked your favorite."
There was a pause.
A small one.
But I heard it.
We all did.
She had said it naturally that time.
Not stiff.
Not forced.
Not as a correction.
Mama.
Astrea looked out the window immediately, pretending she had not noticed.
The girls definitely noticed.
Ruri's smile widened.
Karin looked triumphant.
Hikari looked like the world had been repaired.
I started the engine.
The car rolled out of the school parking lot slowly.
Behind us, the school would deal with complaints, damaged property, confused teachers, and probably one principal wondering what kind of family tree required a combat-ready mother figure from "overseas."
In front of us was home.
Lunch waiting on the table.
Probably too much detergent in storage now.
A new family problem.
A new family answer.
And Astrea sitting in the back seat with three little girls attached to her like she had always belonged there, glaring at me through the mirror because she knew exactly what I was thinking.
She was not falling for me.
No.
That was not what this was.
She was falling for them.
The house.
The routine.
The children who called her Ria first, then Mama, and somehow made a Demon Queen look like she did not know where to put her hands.
Unfortunately for her, I came attached to the package.
Poor woman.
I almost felt bad.
Almost.
Then she looked at me through the mirror again.
"Mage."
"Yeah?"
"If you tell Aaron about this, I will destroy your remaining coffee."
My hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"That is not funny."
"It was not a joke."
"Understood."
"Good."
Hikari giggled.
"I think Mama is scary," Karin said.
Astrea lifted her chin.
"As she should."
Ruri leaned lightly against Astrea's side.
"Mama is also kind."
Astrea went silent.
I drove.
No one teased her after that.
Not because we didn't want to.
Because sometimes, when something precious settled quietly into place, even I knew better than to disturb it.
We went home.
Together.
*****
End of Chapter 35
Arclight Parenting Report:
Parents:
Ren Arclight — Retired Archmage / Full-Time Dragon Dad
Ria Arclight (Astrea) — Former Demon Queen / Full-Time Dragon Mom (Unofficial... for about five minutes)
Current Family Objective:
Raise three daughters in a loving home while preventing emotional damage, dungeon disasters, and grocery budget inflation.
Children Under Protection:
Karin – Fire / Future Defense Squad Founder
Ruri – Ice / Household Emotional Anchor
Hikari – Light / Official Title Distributor
Today's Activities:
Enjoyed one suspiciously peaceful week
Successfully maintained household routine
Hosted surprise inspection from Aunt Ruruka
Performed sparkle dragon magic demonstration
Confirmed Demon Queen has become surprisingly good with children
Received reports of multiple abnormal dungeon evolutions across Japan
Completed grocery shopping
Retrieved expensive recording crystal from guild
Picked children up from school
Discovered daughters had been emotionally hurt during family tree activity
Returned to school immediately
Broke principal's office door
Delivered legendary parental lecture
Accidentally completed official "Mama" inauguration ceremony
New Developments:
Family Tree assignment exposed children's insecurity regarding having no mother
Astrea publicly declared the girls as "My daughters."
Hikari officially addressed Astrea as "Mama."
Karin immediately accepted the promotion
Ruri quietly accepted it first... then said it out loud
Astrea unconsciously responded as Mama
School officially recognizes a new member of the Arclight household
Door durability remains under investigation
Household Status:
Complete
Mother Acquired
Children Emotionally Stabilized
Coffee Still Safe
Parents Stress Levels:
Ren
Concerned
Emotionally Attacked
Financially Responsible
Repairing One School Door
Ria
Protective
Royally Furious
Maternal Instincts Activated
One Principal Successfully Intimidated
Family Growth:
Parenting Skill
Ren: 54.6%
Ria: 18.9% → 42.7% (Massive Growth Bonus Applied: "First Time Being Called Mama")
Current Parents Status:
Ren
Active Dad
Emergency Mediator
Door Repair Sponsor
Ria
Active Mom
Household Defender
Principal's Greatest Fear
Immediate Priorities:
Feed children lunch
Continue reassuring the girls
Repair school property
Complete guild paperwork
Continue normal family life
Pretend nobody noticed Ria blushing
Operational Assessment:
Mission Type: Emotional Rescue + Parental Intervention
Difficulty: Harder Than Any Dungeon
Emotional Status:
Ren
Calm - Relieved - Proud
Ria
Protective - Embarrassed - Quietly Happy
Future Outlook:
Family dynamic permanently changed
Three daughters now possess a mother figure
School staff will never forget today's meeting
Ria's denial phase expected to continue for several chapters
Parents Personal Statement:
Ren:
"I fought Demon Kings, ancient monsters, and dungeon anomalies... but watching three little girls call someone 'Mama' might've been the strongest thing I've ever witnessed."
Ria:
"Children under my protection shall never question whether they are loved again."
Reality's Response:
"Congratulations. The Demon Queen has been legally defeated by three hugs, one family tree assignment, and a single word... Mama."